As Of May 2018 The Economic Stress Index is:

3.42

Underemployment: 8.03

GDP: 2.81

Household Income: 1.8

The Economic Stress Index is at 3.42 in May 2018; up from 3.35 in April and down from 7.35 in May of last year. The lower the index, the better the economy is. The historical average is 7.34 in the years of 1973 through 2016.

Underemployment (the U6) averaged 8.03 the last three months ending with the April jobs report released early May, and Gross Domestic Product (“The Economy”) was 2.81% higher the last quarter compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Household Income, per Sentier Research, was 1.80% higher the last three months (Feb-March-April) compared to the same three months a year earlier.

U6 Explanation

The U-6 counts the regular unemployed (known as the official Unemployment Rate or U-3), plus those marginally attached to the workforce (halfway looking for jobs), plus those who have part time jobs because they can’t find full-time jobs due to the state of the economy. The Economic Stress Index uses a rolling 3-month average of the U-6.